By Max Evry ON March 16, 2015
James O'BarrLast month, it was reported that hot “Boardwalk Empire” and Ben-Hur remake star Jack Huston was being tapped to portray the iconic Eric Draven in the long-gestating remake of The Crow, and now the comic’s creator James O’Barr has confirmed to Dread Central at the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention that the actor has signed on the line that is dotted.
“Jack Huston has definitely been cast,” said O’Barr, who stated he was “really happy with that choice,” and that the film “will shoot in a couple of months.”
During a videotaped panel at the con, O’Barr also let slip that “Downton Abbey” actress Jessica Brown Findlay will likely take the role of Draven’s murdered girlfriend Shelly in flashbacks. In keeping with the project’s English director Corin Hardy (The Hallow), O’Barr says most of the cast will be British, including at least one “Game of Thrones” vet.
Here are some other hit points from the panel:
- The new film will hew closer to his original graphic novel, including the bird accompanying Eric actually talking to him. The bird effect could be brought to life with stop-motion animation, a staple of Hardy’s short and music video work.
- It will be shot this spring in Belgium, standing in for Detroit.
- O’Barr has a hand in choosing the soundtrack, which will include songs by Joy Division referenced in the book.
- If the film is successful he hopes it will lead to sequels that (unlike the previous franchise) tackle The Crow in different forms and time periods, with the second film being a female Crow (presumably Iris Shaw from the 1996 graphic novel “The Crow: Flesh & Blood,” while another graphic novel, “The Crow: Dead Time,” features a Native American named Joshua during the Civil War era).
With a screenplay by Cliff Dorfman, Relativity’s new screen version of The Crow is produced by Ryan Kavanaugh, Kevin Misher, Jeff Most and the original film’s Edward R. Pressman.
